The heirloom National Pickling Cucumber is one of two pickling cucumbers I like to grow. It has a medium size vine and is very prolific. It can start production in as early as 50 days and, if you keep the cucumbers picked, will produce until frost takes it.

National is considered a dual purpose cucumber because it is also good to eat. Pickling cucumbers have a little less water than fresh eating cucumbers. Taste good to me, though.

Today I put 6 seeds in 6 pots. Realistically, that is more than I need. I will be hopping to process them if they start production. I will likely not keep more than three.

I have been in another windstorm/ sandstorm since yesterday. It was supposed to be over by 9 am, but at 6 pm it is still blowing dust. Expected to get down to 26°F tonight. The weather can disrupt cucumber production, so I will see how it goes.

A secondary benefit from cucumbers is the greens are edible. They are also much more nutritious… but I love cucumbers anyway.

If I get good production, I will make both canned pickles and lacto-fermentation pickles. I like both hot and plain pickles, and so I add dried Japanese chile pods to some of my pickles. I have quite a few chile pods left but need to grow more. This is where native onions are awesome, because the tiny bulbils are good in pickles. I don’t expect any bulbils this year, maybe next year.

In any event, National Pickling Cucumbers are good for pickles and fresh eating.

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About rebeccatreeseed

I am a naturalist raised by naturalists. Treeseed is my earned name, while Rebecca is my birth name. I am of Northern European descent, with a quarter Irish.quarter thrown in. I suspect I was a product of northern invaders into Ireland into Ireland. but hard to say since DNA disproved the family story about Apache blood! I have found some odd ancestors to replace them.
Last year I bought 5 acres of pinyon-juniper forest on the side of a mountain in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. I am fulfilling a lifetime dream of a cabin in the mountains and a food forest that will feed me and local wildlife. I want to share this new phase of my life with others that might be interested.